On the beds, the two elderly patients had chapped lips and dry skin, with signs of mild dehydration, possibly due to the high fever.
Dark energy was swirling around their forehead, and their eyelids, lips, and nails were slightly blackening.
Lu Fei couldn't help but frown.
The malignant aura is too strong!
The ghost-restraining character can only suppress it, preventing the condition of the two elders from worsening, but it cannot eliminate the malevolent energy.
"Hu Zi, what did they end up provoking?"
The edges of the ghost-restraining characters on the bodies of the two elders were slightly blackened, showing signs of being tainted by the malevolent energy.
Lu Fei replaced them with new ghost-restraining characters.
"Boss, let's go outside and talk."
Hu Zi gave his parents a look, then pointed toward the area outside the sickbed to Lu Fei.
"Okay."
After checking once more and seeing that the expressions of the two elders, now asleep, had become much more peaceful, Lu Fei left the ward with Hu Zi.
There weren't many people at the township health center; it was very quiet and desolate.
Hu Zi leaned against the mottled wall, lit another cigarette, and sighed deeply.
"It's been a really bizarre year in our village, first a drought, resulting in no harvest at all."
"Later, several people died of illness one after another."
"The village felt it wasn't a good omen, and after some discussion, they invited an old Taoist priest from outside to look into the matter. The old Taoist tried to invoke rain for the village, but not only did he fail, he also brought misfortune."
"Invoke rain?" Lu Fei frowned.
Invoking rain is a major ritual that borrows power from the heavens, requiring profound Taoist skills.
Could it be that because the old Taoist lacked sufficient ability, instead of invoking rain, he summoned evil spirits?
"What method did the old Taoist use to invoke rain?"
"Boss, have you heard of 'striking dry bones'?" Hu Zi exhaled a puff of smoke, then turned his tired, red eyes to look at Lu Fei.
"Striking dry bone stakes? Of course I've heard of it." Lu Fei nodded.
In ancient times, people believed that when a place suffered from a drought, it was due to the appearance of a drought fiend.
There are many theories about the origin of the Corpse Drought.
Some say it is a monster from ancient mythology that can cause drought disasters.
Others claim that it is a transformation of Nüba, the daughter of the Yellow Emperor.
There are even claims that it is a type of zombie.
Theories vary, and there is no definitive conclusion.
The only commonality is that this monster brings about droughts.
Of course, the Corpse Drought mentioned by Hu Zi is somewhat different from the legendary Corpse Drought, aligning more with the third theory.
"Our village has been in drought for several months. We're all in the same mountain valley, and other villages are getting rain, but ours is not. Sometimes we see dark clouds gathering in the sky, but they soon disperse. It's very strange!"
Hu Zi continued in a hoarse voice.
"The old Taoist said that it's because our village has a Corpse Drought burial. We must find the Corpse Drought burial and strike it to bring rain, or our village won't get any rain."
"This term 'dry bone burial' has also been heard in our village, so we believed the old Taoist and led him to the graveyard."
"The old Taoist wandered around the graveyard, and finally pointed at a new grave, saying it was the one. He asked the villagers to dig up the grave and take out the bones inside, to be whipped and exposed to the sun."
"That grave belonged to Uncle Lao Gen's mother, who had passed away last year. Uncle Lao Gen was initially unwilling, but he couldn't resist the pressure from the villagers and had to agree."
"After everyone dug out the old lady's bones and whipped them, they burned them and even gave the old Taoist a large sum of money."
"But unexpectedly, not only did it not rain, but on the contrary..."
Hu Zi's eyebrows were knitted into a frown, and his fists were clenched tightly.
"Ever since that day, the village has not been at peace! Every night, livestock are being killed, and the villagers have been falling ill one after another, all with symptoms of fever."
"No matter what methods were tried, the fevers could not be reduced. Several people died of dehydration due to high fever, just like the crops in the fields."
"The old Taoist took the money and left, and no one knew what was going on. Everyone lives in fear every day."
Hu Zi held his cigarette, his face full of worry.
"The custom of performing a drought bone burial to pray for rain has existed since ancient times. It is said that a drought bone burial is formed by the latest person buried in a place who undergoes a strange transformation," Lu Fei took out a bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to Huzi.
"The body of a drought bone burial is different from an ordinary corpse; it does not rot, but instead grows green fur all over, and is much taller than a normal person, with very long fangs!"
"Was the corpse you dug up in your village like that?"
Huzi thought for a moment and said, "I heard from a few old uncles that the corpse indeed didn't rot and had green fur, which was quite scary."
"If that's the case, then there shouldn't be any mistake. Why isn't it raining, but instead, something bad happened?" Lu Fei frowned slightly, showing a puzzled expression, "It seems that what's happening in your village is not so simple. Just talking about it won't help, I still need to go to your village and check it out."
"Boss, thank you so much!"
Huzi was extremely grateful.
"You gave me time off out of kindness, but I didn't expect such a strange thing to happen in the village, and now I have to trouble you to come..."
"If we don't solve this problem in your village, you won't be able to go back, and who will do the work at the shop? Who will clean up after Hei Hei?" Lu Fei deliberately snorted and teased.
"Working is no problem for me! As for Hei Hei... can't it just leave less mess?"
Sure enough, Huzi also laughed, feeling much more relaxed.
Anyway, he wasn't afraid once the boss arrived; no matter what happened, the boss could handle it.
"Alright, when you see it, you can talk to it yourself. It's waiting in the car," Lu Fei waved his hand, "No time to waste, let's go into the village now."
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements! My cousin works at this health center, I'll ask her to look after my parents."
Huzi acted quickly, settling his parents and then following Lu Fei to the car.
Xiaohei, rarely so enthusiastic, pounced on him, wagging its tail vigorously at Huzi, which moved him deeply. He repeatedly marveled that picking up after this little creature was not for nothing.
"You drive!"
Lu Fei handed the steering wheel to Huzi.
"It's been a while since I've driven, I really miss it."
Huzi touched the steering wheel, deftly started the car, and pressed the gas pedal.
The black off-road vehicle drove out of the parking lot in a cool manner, heading towards the mountains.
Huzi's home is in a place called Zhaojiagou, simply because all the people here have the surname Zhao.
Once in the mountains, there wasn't even a concrete road.
The winding dirt road was bumpy and uneven, and after a jolting ride, the car finally reached the village entrance.
"Boss, we can only drive up to here."
Huzi got out of the car first and opened the door for Lu Fei.
"Our village isn't big, just a few dozen households. Most of the young people in the village have gone to the city to work, leaving behind mostly elderly people and children."
Lu Fei stepped out of the car and looked around at the small village nestled in the mountain valley.
It was getting dark by then.
The village was gloomy and felt very oppressive.
"That day, I rushed back happily, but as soon as I entered the village, I felt something was off; no one had a smile on their face." Hus said, leading Lu Fei into the village.
After leaving its scent on the ground, the small black dog quickly caught up with the two of them.
The village was unusually quiet. A few old houses were dimly lit, and every household had their doors and windows tightly shut. There wasn't even a bark from a dog.
Hus glanced at the small black dog, suddenly looked nervous, and scooped it up in his arms.
"We need to be careful. All the dogs in the village have already died."